Well, I was hoping for more from Romney, and I'm sure you were too. But he did OK.

He seems very gun-shy about challenging/attacking Obama on hard core facts, such as this Libya tragedy and all his broad sweeping proclamations about how his policies are working, how the Bush administration created this mess, and how he, Obama, is more for the middle class and small business than is Romney and his republican pals.

All this is preposterous and ripe for ridicule and attack .But there was little of this. Again, he's either gun shy, afraid of making a mistake at this late stage of the game, or simply lacks the killer-instinct we'd like to see.

Romney is a nice guy and plays fair. But he's in a mud-wrestling contest with a political Hulk Hogan, and he's been dirtied up a lot. Why his handlers/advisors don't remind him of this, I can't imagine?

In the last debate he will get one more chance to say full on, to Obama 's face, your policies are bringing this country down!

Your actions and posturings in the days and weeks following the Libya tragedy were unintelligible and without merit or consequence, leaving the American people in the dark as to why their ambassador was murdered ! It's been over a month, and we still don't know who was responsible for this breakdown!

Your claims to be for the middle class is a ruse, because you won't define which middle class you're talking about? We all know you mean people making less than $100K, but the real movers/shakers of our economy are all those making $100K & $500K. These are the real drivers of the economy,and you would tax and penalize them, forcing them to shed jobs and lay off workers; some say as many as 750,000 jobs, with the stroke of your pen!

These are the real middle & upper middle class folks making America great, but you call them rich and privileged, which proves you don't have a clue about the economic contribution they make.

You claim 97% of small businesses make under $250K. That's bogus too. We all know about the tax structuring of their companies with C-Corps/S-Corps /LLC's which dilutes the earnings. Also tax breaks for depreciation/amortization and other methods to lower income & reduce tax. These folks make in pure terms much more and hire over half the workforce, but you'd tamper with that, driving a stake through the heart of our economy.

Then you say you're for small business, but you demonize them with the tax code, and you're on record as telling them "they didn't build that", which is utter nonsense and a slap in their face!

You keep claiming you've added 5 million jobs, but that's after losing 28 million! And no, Bush didn't lose them,YOU DID - with your crazy regulations, Obamacare and proposed tax increases. This whole mess is on your watch, it's your failure and your responsibility. So do us a favor, stop blaming Bush!

I could go on, but you get the idea. Romney must rise to this final occasion/opportunity to rub Obama's nose in it.

Accuse him of lying, not understanding how the economy works, or how to run a business, or what really drives a successful foreign policy, or how to properly and effectively deal with a crisis like Libya, or how to elicit the cooperation of an unfriendly congress. Lest we forget, that's being a leader, in the midst of adversity . . .

Whether our Jewish friends, or folks in those border-states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and the rest get this is anyone's guess? It seems we live in an age where, whoever tells the most lies wins! How could this happen? Evidently, by having more and more people abandon any attempt at staying informed, understanding the issues, recognizing a phony when he's in their face, or comprehending what it means to be an American.

Yes, we tolerate and welcome all views and ideologies, but these are shadings/colorings if you will, that don't dramatically pull the mainstream of American thought off it's center path. In other words, if you truly think socialism, statism or communism is the way to go, or some kind of ultra-right wing, Christian-based theocracy for that matter, then you're no longer an American. One cannot sponsor and subscribe to these ideologies without abandoning the basic precepts of what it means to be an American.

Jews of course, tend to be left and feel government should help more. A little of that goes a long way. Wilson did that, FDR more, LBJ more still, and now Barack Obama is barreling down the left side of the mountain. It's too much, can't work, hasn't worked in Europe and other places, and will never work in light of the hopes and dreams of the human spirit.

Undecided swing-staters, I haven't a clue. How they can still be on the fence inspite of the trouble we're in, I find unimaginable. May as well be a proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand! One thing's sure, they better decide soon, because it all hinges on them, the Jews, and reasonably rationale and intelligent blacks, browns and single-white females.

That's where we're at. Let's hope some of these folks begin to see the light, and come to their senses. If some of them will do that, and if this Libyan scandal catches fire like it should and heads begin to roll, well, who knows, we just might find ourselves with a change of course, a new engineer driving the train, and a bunch of folks finally wakening from their political slumbers and starting to take an interest.

Yep, that good old American Spirit might just win the day!

Take Heart & Stay Well

Al

Postscript:

You've been reading a letter from me to my good friend of many, many years, Paul M. You can find more letters and other thoughts of mine, including ongoing commentaries of current topics and issues,at my new blogsite; www.shaneview.com